


The Battered Bear

by Freya_Druid



Category: Jrock, MEJIBRAY
Genre: Curses, Drummer - Freeform, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Hallucinations, Major Character Injury, Mental Health Issues, Mental Instability, Music, Musicians, Paranormal, Psychic Abilities, Ruana, Self-Doubt, Teddy Bears, Visual Kei
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-25
Updated: 2017-09-25
Packaged: 2019-01-05 04:27:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,555
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12182883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Freya_Druid/pseuds/Freya_Druid
Summary: When a young woman finds an odd, battered teddy bear on her way to work she didn't expect for things to change so drastically, or to meet someone who would not only understand her but trust and help her in a way she never thought possible.~Rated to be on the safe side~





	The Battered Bear

**Author's Note:**

> Heads up: this story refers at length to Meto's accident back in 2014, this however is a fictional take on it. The story has some oocness with Meto being pretty talkative (most of this talking goes through Ruana though) and Koichi is very aggressive at one point (the context has his actions make a bit more sense). Also there are references to mental illness. Aside from that this may be one of my most mundane stories ever. I don't own Mejibray, and I certainly don't know everything about them so if I got some details wrong feel free to let m know.

_ “Mejibray to postpone tour after drummer, Meto, hospitalized for accidental fall.” _

Not many were in the loop that this was not the truth of what had happened. 

* * *

 

There wasn't really anything to indicate that this morning would be any different for the petite young woman as she made her way to work. She kept her head down, letting her long black hair fall over her face, hiding her from the few she passed, even as she stared down at the black platforms she wore on her feet. She likely wouldn't have stopped until she reached her destination, a small cafe where she worked as a barista, were it not for the fact that very suddenly her overly large boot had become tangled with a scrap of dirtied fabric. 

The silent girl stopped in her tracks, taking a hesitant step back so she could crouch down and examine what she had almost stepped on. What she originally thought was a piece of fabric turned out to be a tattered teddy bear. The bear had brown fur, which was matted with dried mud, the seams were torn open in several places, and a slightly reddish tint seemed set into the ear of the bear closer to the bright purple button eye. It looked like it had been trampled into the sidewalk several times, and the girl couldn't help the pang of sadness the state of the small plushie brought to her chest. With a quick glance around, and even up at the apartment building she was crouching beside for the bears owner, the girl quickly came to the conclusion that no one was looking for it.

And so, without further hesitation one pale hand snatched the bear off the ground as the girl continued her walk to work, gently setting the abused stuffed animal in her backpack until she could get it home and clean it up.

As she rounded the last corner towards her work, the girl couldn't help the small smile that graced her hidden lips as an unfamiliar happiness touched her heart. The smile, however was short lived as she heard the whispering she had been so desperate to ignore creep back into her consciousness. With a sigh the girl pushed away her thoughts and resigned herself to a long day at work. 

* * *

 

It was already dark when the tired girl finally entered her apartment. She carelessly tossed her backpack on the floor by the door, even as she wiggled out of the boots that had become far too heavy almost an hour ago. When she was finally out of the platforms, and as a result several inches shorter, the girl grabbed her bag and headed up to her bedroom. She lived in an older building, so she didn't have her own bathroom, but it was what she could afford. When she was finally in the comfort of her room, the girl once again set down her backpack, this time to begin to change out of the simple black clothes she had worn that day. 

It was as she was changing into a tank top and a pair of anime sweatpants that the whispers she constantly fought to keep just outside her perception started to push to the forefront of her awareness again. When she had finished changing, and the whispers had not faded away, the black haired girl heaved a frustrated sigh, going over to her already closed door to lock it.

“What do you want,” she murmured to her empty room, finally giving in to simply listen to the whispering voices that had been noticeably more persistent today. The whispering intensified as if several people were having a conversation that she couldn't quite make out, until they once again died down enough that she could make out a voice she didn't think she had heard before.

“Don't forget about Ruana.” 

For a moment the small girl was confused, she had never met anyone named Ruana so how could she possibly forget them, then a strange feeling puller her attention back to her discarded backpack. The dark grey bag was still sitting where she had plopped it beside her door, yet for some reason it seemed inconceivable to just leave it there, untouched. The girl crouched over the bag and carefully opened it to see the dirtied teddy bear she had picked up earlier that day. Without a doubt, the girl knew that this was the Ruana the voice had referred to, and a troubled expression settled on her features as she carefully lifted the bear out of her bag.

The same feeling of sadness from that morning returned at seeing the torn seams and dirtied fur, and it wasn't long before she had left her spot crouched over her bag to go searching through her closet for her sewing kit. When she had found the kit, the girl sat down on her bed, the kit beside her and the bear in her lap as she examined the extent of the damage. Once she started repairing the torn seams it wasn't long before she finished. The stitches weren't perfect, but she had managed to repair the damages to her own satisfaction. Once she was happy that no stuffing would spill out or that the repairs would come undone, she hopped off her bed with energy she didn't know she had left, and silently left her room. The buildings communal bathrooms were just down the hall from her room, and she tried to be as quiet as possible as she went about filling one of the sinks with warm water, hoping that no one would be disturbed by her washing the bear this late at night. Using just soapy water, the girl was able to clean away most of the dirt and grime that had been caked to the stuffed animals fur. 

As she was towel drying the now clean stuffed animal on her way back to her room, the girl felt a strange sense of gratitude that almost seemed to be coming from the bear. When she was back in the safety of her locked room, the girl stared at the bear in her hands before eventually fighting off the urge to never let it go so she could set it on the dresser next to her bed. The pull of fatigue was starting to weigh down her limbs, and the girl’s eyelids were becoming difficult to keep open. With a weary sigh, the girl flicked off her room's light and climbed into her soft bed, content to worry about the strange occurences of the day when she awoke in the morning.

* * *

 

_ An eery silence permeated the night air as a single building came into focus. The building stood tall against the starry night sky, a simple dull white shade illuminated by several lights shining on the pale surface. There was a sign beside the buildings entrance that labeled the place as a hospital, and the automatic doors slid open as the bright, artificial light of the hallway pushed away the night. Drifting through the halls, it was disturbing to not see a single person, but that thought didn’t linger long when a single room that stood out came into view. The silence that had hung thick in the air was lifted by a steady mechanical beeping that drifted out of the room. As the door drifted open the interior of the room was revealed as being the same stark white as the halls, every surface bathed in the bright fluorescent light that made everything seem pale and surreal. And there, in the center of the room, lay a single boy, hooked up to several machines with wires that peeked out of the hospital gown that seemed very large on his small body. The boys skin was a dangerously pale shade and he looked to be in pain, but before a closer examination could be made, the room was forcefully pulled away, leaving only darkness behind. _

* * *

 

The girl woke with a start, tears in her eyes the image of the hurt boy remained fresh in her mind. It took her a moment to realize that it had been a dream, and another to realize that she was tightly clutching the strange teddy bear that she thought she had left on her dresser. As she blinked the last sleep from her eyes, she glanced around her room to see that morning had already come, streaks of sunlight fighting their way into her room through the cracks in her blinds. The girl pushed away the growing urge to pinch the bridge of her nose as she tossed back the covers of her bed and set the bear at the opposite end while she drew the blinds to let in the morning light. She had today off work so she didn't have to worry about getting ready, and she could already feel her curiousity growing, even as the whispers pushed back into her awareness. 

So, for the first time in a very long time, she allowed herself to believe that the whispers may not be coming from within her own twisted skull, and she allowed herself to fully hear the voices that so many had told her were just in her head. For a moment she was slightly overwhelmed, it was as if she had pulled cotton balls out of her ears and was listening to the voices of friends she had pushed away for the first time in years. 

Eventually the chatter died down and one voice was able to stand apart from the rest, “Thank you for saving Ruana-chan.”

The girl's eyebrows furrowed in doubt, “Who are you? Are you real or did I make you up?”

“I'm real, if you doubt that then go get a phone. Look up ‘Mejibray, Meto accident’ and you'll find proof that I'm real.”

The girl hurried to grab her phone out of her backpack, quickly returning to sit on her bed as she frantically typed in the search the voice had given her. It didn't take her long to find a short post on a visual kei site about the band.

_ “Mejibray to postpone tour after drummer, Meto, hospitalized for accidental fall.” _ She read aloud, already going into a slight daze due to the shock of finally having some form of proof that she wasn't just hallucinating.

She was pulled out of her thoughts when the voice broke the short silence. “Not many were in the loop that this was not the truth of what had happened. I didn't actually fall out of a window, but my body is in a hospital.”

“W-who…?” The girl was very confused now, not only was she being forced to face the fact that everyone who knew about the voices was wrong in saying they were nothing more than a hallucination, but she was also speaking with the disembodied soul of a visual kei artist that is literally laying in a hospital somewhere.

“I am Meto, the drummer for Mejibray, and this bear is my curse. Ruana is the teddy bear that everyone thinks I carry as a prop, but what they don't know is that I carry Ruana-chan because I have to. Ruana holds my soul, and if my body and soul are separated, my body will collapse and start to fail.”

“Were you the person I saw in my dream?”

“Yes, sorry about that. My soul is always drawn back to my body, so I guess that manifested in your dream. Honestly I'm very surprised by you, most people can barely stand to hold Ruana-chan and no one has been able to speak to me when I'm like this.”

“Maybe that’s because you haven’t encountered someone sufficiently crazy to speak to you,” The girl murmured more to herself than the voice that had been echoing out of the teddy bear across the bed from her. 

“Why do you think you're crazy, cause you're talking to a teddy bear?”

The girl sighed, trying to muster up the courage to put years of self doubt into words. “It isn't just the teddy bear, I've been able to hear voices that others couldn't for as long as I can remember, and for as long as I can remember I've been shunned by those around me because they thought I was crazy. Until today I've never had any sort of proof that I wasn't just hallucinating, so it's a little hard to believe in myself with something so minute after so much time being told, and even telling myself that I was crazy.”

“I see. If you really want concrete proof, all you need to do is bring Ruana-chan to the hospital my body is in. If I'm not really there then you'll know you have a reason to doubt yourself, but if I am then you'll have proof that you aren't crazy.”

The girl stared hard at the teddy bear, a frown contorting her features as she considered the implications of what the voice was suggesting. She finally had a chance to prove to herself and others that she isn’t crazy, but at the same time she would run the risk of proving that she really is insane which would likely result in a mental fallout that would land her in an asylum. Did she really have the courage to face the truth, good or bad?

“I need to know,” The girl murmured, barely managing to pull her gaze away from the stuffed animal before she grabbed it and hopped up, displaying a sudden amount of determination as she moved swiftly to the door. “Wait here a moment,” she said to the bear as she cracked her door and set it down beside it in the hallway.

She quickly set about getting changed into some day clothes, trying not to think about the fact that she may have changed in front of the disembodied soul of a strange man the night before. Once she was fully changed into her normal clothes, which consisted all in black of leggings, a tank top, and a comfortable cardigan that draped loosely off her shoulders, she returned to her door and grabbed the stuffed animal from the ground as she headed down the hall towards the buildings exit.

* * *

 

The girl stood before a tall white building that was identical to the one from her dream, the doubts that she had pushed aside were now fighting their way back to the surface. The building suddenly seemed intimidating and the girl began to wonder whether she would be brave enough to venture inside.

“My body is in this hospital, you just need to go inside.” The girl looked down at the bear she had been clutching tight to her chest since she had left her home, steeling her resolve as she willed her feet back into movement. 

Inside the hospital was less disturbing than it had been in her dream, the glow of the light wasn’t quite so unnatural and off putting, and the halls weren’t deserted as nurses, doctors, patients, and visitors crossed the halls all going to their own destinations. Without stopping to ask directions, the girl allowed her feet to carry her through the halls in the direction of the strange pull she could feel urging her forwards. After winding through several twists and turns, and even up a flight of stairs, she found the same room she had seen in her dream. 

With a final sigh, the girl hugged the stuffed animal closer to herself as she carefully opened the door to see a brightly lit room with a familiar boy in the center lying on the bed, buried in white blankets. He looked surprisingly young and too pale and still to be healthy, but he was definitely the same person she had seen in her dreams. 

“Excuse me, this is a private room,” the girl was pulled from her thoughts by a quiet but still fairly forceful voice that came from a pink haired man who she hadn’t noticed sitting in a chair beside the unconscious boy. He had an expression that was almost a cross between bored and annoyed, until he actually turned to look at her and saw what she was holding. “Where did you get that bear,” he demanded, standing suddenly and moving toward her.

“I-I found it. On the street. It’s his, isn’t it?” This response seemed to give the other pause in his growing anger.

“Yes it’s his, I have a lot of questions for you and I’m sure the others will too, but for now just give it back to him.” Despite the fact that he had long pink hair, the girl wasn't ashamed to admit she found the other intimidating. 

“Koichi be nice,” the annoyed rebuttal from the bear was what got the girl to start moving, to awkwardly shuffle past the angry man who clearly hadn't heard the teddy bear. Once safely around the person she now knew was Koichi, she walked up to the edge of the bed, staring into the pale face that finally proved she wasn't crazy. The girl carefully tucked the bear under the blanket so it was cradled into the boy's side, head just peeking out over the edge of the blanket. 

When she glanced back up to his face as she stepped back from the bed she was met with a piercing black stare. Just as she went to ask how he was feeling, the girl was pushed aside by the suddenly excited pink haired boy.

“Meto, are you ok? Are you back,” he asked in a rushed tone.

Meto rolled his eyes as he made a weak attempt to sit up. “Be nice to her, Koichi, she saved Ruana-chan.”

It was only then that he seemed to notice he had practically thrown the frail girl aside to get to his friend.

“Meto, don't sit up. I'm sorry,” he directed at the girl then immediately returned his attention to his friend. “The guys are on their way, what the hell happened?”

The boy finally gave up trying to sit up with a groan. “I had a couple drinks, next thing I knew a couple crazy fans stole Ruana and ran off.”

“How could they have gotten it away from you, were you really that dr-”

The pink haired man was suddenly cut off when the door to the room was forcefully thrown open with a dramatic cry of “Meto-Chan!”

Two unfamiliar men entered the room, one blonde and clearly worried, the other sporting a chaotic mess of black hair as he practically flew at the boy in the hospital bed. 

“MiA, Tsuzuku, it's nice to see you too,” the boy somehow managed to squeeze out even as the black haired man landed on top of him in a very dramatic hug.

“Meto, are you ok? We all would like to know what happened, we feared we wouldn't get you back,” the blonde said, completely ignoring the black haired man as he ungracefully tumbled off the bed.

“It's a bit of a story, as for getting back, if it weren't for her I wouldn't have,” the small drummer gestured to the stunned girl in the corner of the room.

“Meto-chan is talking in front of a stranger,” the black haired man questioned from his place on the ground to the side of the bed.

“So she isn't one of the maniacs that stole Ruana in the first place,” came the slightly confused but still aggressive tone of the pink head.

“No, she found Ruana-chan on the street yesterday. She even fixed her up last night, so for the love of god, Koichi, be nice.”

The black haired man that had once again righted himself, moved to stand in front of the small girl. “Thank you very much for helping our friend.”

She didn't know whether it was the kindness she was being shown, or the words the other had spoken, but in that moment it was as if something inside the girl gave way, causing countless tears to spill down her cheeks.

“Hey, are you ok,” The concerned voice came from the bed as his friends stepped aside so Meto would have a clear view of the upset girl.

“Y-yeah. I just finally have proof, it’s- it’s too much.” The girl was already desperately trying to wipe away the tears that didn’t seem to want to stop.

While most of the men looked extremely confused, the one that was still laying in the hospital bed beckoned the girl who was currently trying to hide her face behind her hands over to himself. With timid glnces at the other men in the room, the girl gradually made her way over to once again stand beside the hospital bed. When she was beside the bed, the boy surprised her by pulling her into a tight hug. 

“Thank you for all your help, I don’t think I can ever repay you, and I don’t even know your name.”

“Kimiko. And you’ve already repaid me,” the girl mumbled into his shoulder, barely audible. “You’ve proved that I’m not crazy, so thank you.”

“Sorry to interrupt the touching moment, but I think the rest of us would like to know what on earth happened.” When Kimiko pulled away from the small boy in the bed she saw that all three of his friends were staring at the two of them expectantly.

The girl hurriedly wiped her face and glanced at Meto to see if he would start the conversation. 

“Well, this whole ordeal started when I went out for drinks after our last show, some fans spotted me and thought it would be a good idea to take Ruana-Chan. By the time I noticed that they were up to something, they were already bolting out of the bar. I tried to follow them but when Ruana got too far away my body gave out.”

“Meto, no more drinking alone,” The pink haired one said in a deadpan tone.

“But how did your bear end up on the street,” the girl asked timidly, her curiosity overcoming her anxiety.

“Well, that was because they reacted negatively to the distress of my soul. Up until I met you, I thought I was the only person that could hold Ruana-chan without getting anxious. When most people hold her they react, though I’m not sure whether they react to my soul or to the curse that binds it to Ruana. So when those girls stole Ruana from me, they started to react, the longer they were around her, the more stressed I got, and the more anxious and paranoid they became. After a couple days they realized that having Ruana in their apartment was causing their stress, so they threw my poor teddy bear out of a third story window. Ruana-chan was trampled on the street all night until you picked her up and took her home.”

“Still, I can’t believe someone would steal something so obviously precious to you,” Kimiko said with a noticeable pout, so caught up in her thoughts that she didn’t notice all four men staring at her until several moments later. “What,” she asked with a light blush dusting her cheeks as she stared back at them with wide eyes.

“Nothing,” three of four mumbled.

The one with black hair continued to stare, that is until he blurted out, “Cute,” as he lunged at the startled girl, grabbing her in a surprise hug.

“Tsuzuku, how high are you,” Koichi asked with a somewhat tired tone.

“Not very,” The black haired man responded with a pout, still clutching the uncomfortable girl to his chest.

“Tsuzuku please don't suffocate her,” the clearly exhausted boy still lying in the hospital bed said, snuggling into the blankets as he hugged Ruana close.

“Meto, we should discuss your condition,” the blonde man said as he helped pry the petite girl out of his over enthusiastic friends arms.

The boy didn't speak but opened his eyes, clearly fighting off the urge to sleep, and nodded at his friends to continue.

“Koichi, could you go get the doctor and let them know he's awake,” the black haired man was suddenly very serious as he took the role of the group's leader. “Meto, would you like to discuss this in private, or,” he trailed off, gesturing towards the girl.

“No, Kimiko-san can stay.” 

The black haired man raised an eyebrow but didn't protest as the pink haired man came back into the room, followed by a slightly older looking doctor. 

“Hello, I'm Dr. Nakajima. I understand you had a rough night, Mr. -”

“He just goes by Meto,” the blonde man interjected, making his way over to the chair set against the wall.

“Well Meto-san, how are you feeling?”

“Head hurts,” Meto said, suddenly much more quiet than he had been just moments ago.

“Yes, you’ve been unconscious for several days, headaches, nausea, vertigo, and fatigue are to be expected over the first 24 to 48 hours after you wake up. We’ve put you on several medications, painkillers, antibiotics, and steroids, you’ve broken several bones, received a slight concussion and after you were admitted we noticed you were suffering from malnutrition, dehydration, and alcohol poisoning. You had a very bad fall, it’s lucky you weren’t more injured. Now your family has been notified of your condition and we’ll update them that you’ve woken up. I’m recommending you remain in our hospital for at least 10 more days before we can send you home to fully recover, and I’m recommending bed rest for at least a month after your release, which means you won't be able to be active with your band for some time yet.”

Kimiko noticed the disappointed look on Meto’s face as he nodded his understanding. The doctor offered his assistance if the injured boy had any additional questions, and after checking the monitors readouts and asking a handful of questions he left the group to themselves.

“Are you ok,” the still timid girl asked once the doctor had left, adding “you got really quiet.”

The boy nodded, puffing his breath lazily at the clump of blue hair that had fallen in his eyes.

“Yeah, that’s how he normally is around strangers,” the back haired man supplied.

“Well, Meto looks like he’s about to pass out and MiA is already asleep, maybe we should let the two of them sleep, Tsuzuku do you want to stay this time,” the pink haired man said, starting to usher the girl out as he tried to wake his blonde friend who had somehow already fallen asleep in the chair.

“Oh, yes, it was nice to meet you all,” the girl said timidly with a slight bow as she turned to leave.

“Wait,” the blue haired boy stopped her from his place on the bed, once again making a weak attempt to sit up. “I’d like to have some way to contact you, if you wouldn’t mind,” he said as he looked at his legs covered by the blankets, again giving up on moving any more.

“Y-yes, of course,” the girl said with a shy smile as she made her way back over to the bed. “Would my phone number work?”

Meto looked up at the girl with a pleased smile. “Yes, guys where’s my phone?”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, this is the first VK fic I'm publishing, so all comments and feedback are very appreciated. I was planning to have them be in a pairing but for now I'm publishing this as a oneshot, I may continue it in the future if enough people express an interest in seeing more, and if I can figure out a good way to continue.


End file.
